Business

Fall River business founded in 1837 closing

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) - A 176-year-old Fall River masonry supply business is shutting down, a victim of the changing face of the city.

Owner Winthrop Sanford says Building Materials Inc. will close for good on Oct. 31. It specializes in bricks, mortar and stone.

He tells the

he has seen the business's demise coming for years, as the city's mills closed and retail customers moved to the suburbs.

He says there used to be 40 to 50 masons in the city. Now there are four or five.

The company was founded in 1837 and has been in Sanford's family since 1900.

At its height right after World War II, the company employed about 40 people. In the last decade it has had six to eight employees.

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